Freeware Files: Build the Best Features of OSX into Windows!

A week wouldn't go by on ol' Maximum PC dot com without a flurry of comments erupting over the very mention of that one competing platform. You know, the one whose company is named after a fruit? Anyway, I won't draw out the joke--Maximum PC fans are not quite as enthusiastic about Apple products, Apple platforms, or Apple software as they are about their own custom-built (or purchased), Windows-based PCs. And that's a shame.

We can all agree to disagree on the various parts and pieces of the whole "PC vs. Mac" war that we subscribe to. However, it would be improper--and downright wrong--to deny some of the neat accomplishments that Apple's brought to the table. There are some elements of OSX that are awesome to fire up from a usability standpoint and, at the same time, equally fun to use. But as a Windows user, you're trapped to one system. Good luck getting a legal version of OSX to work on your PC without some interesting sacrifices and workarounds.

Well, that's where this week's Freeware Files leaps into the picture. I can't turn your Windows installation into OSX, nor would I want to--I'm going to show you how you can mimic some of OSX's more fun features in Windows directly. Let's go!

You know a freeware program is hardcore about Apple's platforms when the very Web site it resides on has been completely transformed into an OSX lookalike. And, go figure, that's exactly what FlyakiteOSX will do to your typical Windows XP installation (this one's for you, netbook folk). I kid you not. This application will transform your system--to the best of its ability--into a carbon-copy of Apple's big operating system. It's the closest you're going to get to OSX on a non-Apple system without resorting to the words "hack" or "-intosh."

Quick preface: This application, while geared for Windows 7 and Vista, hasn't been updated in quite some time--nor will it be. The developer has lost all interest in pursuing this program, which grants your Windows-based system a lookalike replica of OSX's popular Expose functionality. With the click of a hotkey, you can shrink all of your open Windows to fit on a grid that's roughly the size of your current screen. Select which window you want to jump to and, voila, up it pops. Better still, SmallWindows doesn't have to be installed to work--just run it from a USB key of your choosing for instant, portable access to one of OSX's cooler features.

Prefer the look of fonts on OSX versus Windows' Cleartype rendering? There's one way to adjust that and it won't cost you the price of a brand-new operating system. Grab the freeware application GDI++ and run it. A little icon pops up in the corner of your system tray. Double-click it to activate it, turning the icon green, and your screen's fonts will be rendered in--what else--GDI++ instead of Cleartype. Double-click the icon again to deactivate the new rendering and return to Windows' default look.

[Author's note: winLight is pulling up as a virus on my other system scanner, so don't download that. Check out nDroid instead, which is what winLight was based on anyway!]

I don't much care for Windows Indexing--neither do you, I venture. When it comes to desktop searching, OSX simply has Windows beat left and right with its awesome Spotlight capabilities. But you, too, can tap into the speedy, comprehensive search results of one of Apple's flagship features. The freeware application winLight slaps a Windows-based copy of Spotlight on your desktop. Start typing in whatever it is you want to find, be it programs to launch or files to explore, and they'll appear in an easy-to-access results window.

Of course, you could always go the easy route for combining the best of the Windows and Apple worlds. Pick yourself up one of Apple Magic Mice--a super-fancy multi-touch mouse--and then hit up Uneasysilence to grab the unofficial, third-party drivers that will allow you to use this hardware device in the Windows operating system. It's not quite as neat as finding out how your favorite magician does his tricks, but these user-generated Bluetooth drivers will nevertheless allow you to connect just a little bit more Apple magic to your daily Windows routines.

David Murphy (@ Acererak) is a technology journalist and former Maximum PC editor. He writes weekly columns about the wide world of open-source as well as weekly roundups of awesome, freebie software. Befriend him on Twitter, especially if you have an awesome app or game you're dying to recommend!

Comments

Sheeeeesch, what gripers you all are. Give it a rest, will you. I've hated the Mac articles as much as you but software is SOFTWARE. Either install it or not. Give this guy a rest. I'm always interested in something new anyway and I'll look at nDroid. Right now I use Locate 32, not Win Search because it's slower.

Thanks Murph, keep up the good work.

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"Either we conform the Truth to our desires or we conform our desires to the Truth."

I agree with everyone here - these articles really show how messed up MaxPC is. I will go further - I believe that Maximum PC really has hired the wrong people. They keep trying to shove Mac stuff down our throats, when we don't want it at all - because we know about computers. We know Windows is superior. The MaxPC staff seems to know or understand very, very little about power computing, which is why they need to go. And which is why I will let my subscription lapse. I will not renew. I want to read articles composed by people that are knowledable. Not people who buy iPhones and garbage like that. Grandmas use Macs. I've had enough.

Windows isn't superior to anything. If the games weren't all on Windows, I'd nuke my Windows partition today and go 100% Ubuntu. And even if you do like Windows better, that doesn't make it perfect, and that doesn't mean that you can't tweak it a bit to give it more interesting features -- yes, even if those features ape ones from Mac OS.

Stop acting like you have a monopoly on the truth, and stop acting like Windows is perfect. In short, stop being a cultist.

Grandmas also use PC's. I know, I've built a few for grandmas. I also install freeware that I think might be interesting and ignore the ones I don't find interesting. Instead of acting like a total ass if I don't like something, I let it slide. And believe it or not, some people like the look of OS X. For some friends that are die hard mac users, getting the switch over to PC must be slow and gradual. Something like an OS X clone could be just the ticket. And finally, not everyone likes the standard Win XP/Vista/7 look. This is why Rainmeter is so popular. Some people just want to try different stuff. Get over it.

*shrug* it's not my place to decide whether to base my articles on whether you love or hate OSX. Some people do, some people don't -- and some people just want to screw around and make their system look like another operating system. Just because you don't like competing platforms doesn't mean that nobody else does.

Murph, it's not that. We come here for PC articles. But lately, we've been noticing more and more and more Apple related stuff (sure the articles about Apple being investigated and stuff are interesting. And then an article about how to make your PC look like a Mac shows up. FOr those people that love Apple stuff, and MacOS, then they should move over to Camp Apple.

Or do like what Gizmodo did, setup a filter that lets visitors filter out any Apple related content.

OK. That's a legitimate complaint. If you really aren't down with the Apple culture or its products, you might not want to come here to read news about Apple goings-on (especially given the obvious stratification of Maximum PC and MacLife).

That said, however, this batch of programs is about tweaking your operating system. Sure, you're tweaking it to embody some things that you'd find in OSX--but if they're better than what you already have, why not go for 'em?

*shrug* not my deal. But even so, why would you hate a good product because of the company that manufactured it? Hate a product because its features suck, or because what it offers doesn't align with what you, as a consumer, want to have. Don't just pour silly haterade because you have some unfounded beef with the company.

That'd be like saying, "Oh, ATI just came out with a sweet new video card that would make my system scream, but I'm not going to buy it because I run an Intel rig and I refuse to support AMD."

I was generally on your side until i read this. Seriously? Did you just say that the ipad is a good product? All objectivity was thrown out the window on that one. First, liking an Ipad is something that very few people truely aspire to. Secondly, they like the fact that the ipod is pretty. Thirdly, it may look pretty, but 90% of the ipad users i've talked to agree that it's bogus, and that apple has chained the user down. Do you know how much interactivity and content you're missing without flash? People buy ipads because it's the next thing that "is cool". they don't buy them because they think the device is awesome. Not to say that the ipad can't do some things right, i bought one...it handles media well...but i also gave it to my 3 year old cousin (only a toddler can truely enjoy the crap(it's the 3 year olds that enjoy it right?)) when i found out that had almost 0 improvement over the iphone in terms of features, it was awkward to hold, i couldn't install codecs natively, and damn-near every part of it was controlled, underwhelming, and suspect to apples discretion.

I assume you're against censorship right? Apple is preventing you from doing what you want with your own $530.19 device.

Did i mention that you only bought it because it's pretty? No...really, i mean it. You bought it because you want to be "different", you dont want to "miss out" on whats popular, and because you think it's pretty.

Apple is brilliant for charging you 500 bucks for a piece of glossy screen with a brushed aluminum plate on the back. A pretty one at that, right?

If you weren't an apple fanboy, if you had any ounce of objectivity in you, you'd realize that the only reason why people buy apple is to be pretty. That's it. If you can't see that, your a girl.

Um, there are problems with the iPad. They've been well documented. I've played with one, for hours. I don't like what it offers. Not drinking haterade, nor am I pouring it all over the flaming bbq of this thread. The assumption you've made, like when you decided to publish the article that started all of this, is that your audience has the same degree of appreciation for Apple products as you do. Here's the deal-there are probably better sites/magazines for Apple product reviews and/or articles than Maximum PC.

What I should have said in my first post and didn't, regretfully, is that something else could have taken up the space on the page. Perhaps something readers would have found more valuable. Your magazine isn't an infinite library of awesome. Its content is limited. Therefore, I feel that this article took away from something most readers would have found more valuable.

There's a chance the program has changed in the past 2 years, but Flyakite OSX is a TERRIBLE program. I installed it on my last desktop. After it slowed down my computer too much, I wanted to uninstall it. Well guess what? There's no way to get rid of it. No uninstaller. And during that time, I did plenty of Googling to look for a fix. Everyone was complaining of the same issues.

After everything going wrong with Flyakite, it came down to me formatting my hard drive to get rid of it.

My personal experience tells me to share this with people so they don't go through the same problems I did.

(And like I said, this was 2 years ago. If it's changed a lot since then, then ignore this comment)

This is the problem -- this app, for all intents, completely changes the look and feel of your operating system to match that of OSX. It's pretty hardcore in its operation. I was hoping that the screenshots and description would get the point across that this isn't akin to downloading a Windows theme or something. But yes, I agree--if you go down this path, be prepared to really go down this path.

yikes, quite some rage from readers here! the only mac like that i used to use was vista switcher (which is probably the best expose clone out there) but since i got my new keyboard mouse combo, i find myself using flip3d about as fast as expose so meh, im good.

Honestly, the two are starting to become indistinguishable. So, it's logical for a consumer to ask "Do I really need to kill more trees so I can get something in print a few weeks before it appears online?" It's also logical for a consumer to ask "Why should I be reading about things that promote the idea that Apple products are superior to those espoused by the very title of this publication?"

"Why should I be reading about things that promote the idea that Apple products are superior to those espoused by the very title of this publication?"

This slays me. I can't even win if I'm showing you how to tap into Apple's world on your own Windows PC. It's not like I'm running a "Top 5 Best iPhone Apps!" story here or something.

As I said earlier, I'm amazed that people are more angry at the very mention of the A-word than happy over the chance to use spin-offs of Apple's operating system without having to buy an Apple product. Next time, I'm just going to call the article "Cool Windows Tweaks That Have No Relation To Anything Apple Has Ever Done, We Hate Them, A Plague On Their Houses"

I can almost understand someone using this software in xp. I don't have any idea why that mouse would be worth using though. How would I right click? isn't it just one big button? It doesn't look very comfortable either. I don't think swiping at the top of the mouse would be better than using forward, back, auto scroll. Doesn't your hand get tired with all of the extra movement Murph?

SmallWindows - No new functionality but I could see the reason someone whould use it

GDI++ - Personal preference on this, the on/off feature was enough for me to try it out (turns out I prefer Cleartype)

winLight - Do people use baked in OS search functions? Maybe I am OCD but it does not take a lot of work to have organized folders so that you can easily find your stuff.

MultiTouch Magic Mouse - I am already scared of anything with magic in the name. Quick search revealed a selling price of $53 plus shipping. For a little more I could think of several mice I would rather have with real drivers behind them.

Keep up the good work Murph. Just because most of these people are to simple to realize that these are just options, and that [i]someone[/i] might be interested in doing this to their OS does not make them Mac fanboys. Just makes them curious.

I'll bite: I'm defending it because--yes--there are some parts of OSX that are better than Windows! Shocker!

I mean, it would be pretty dumb of anyone to just up and say that Windows 7, down to the very last pixel on the box art, is a superior operating system. There are strengths to both platforms. I personally use Windows 7 for most of my day-to-day activity, but that doesn't mean that I can't appreciate some of the finer tweaks, UI improvements, and outright security built into Apple's major operating system.

I think the people getting their SATA cables in a bunch are downright silly for blindly clinging to the notion that Microsoft is the end-all, be-all developer of the modern-day OS. I mean, come on. I thought Microsoft was the enemy, anyhow?

And, on that note, I wonder what everyone's opinion is about Chrome OS...

and now you're saying macs are secure? god, i'm really starting to question your credentials. Honestly, i love your work murph. I even liked this article. Like i said in my first post. there are some things about os x that are nice. But to be honest, don't just quote apple. I realize what you're trying to do with your comments...and theres nothing wrong with it. But everything isn't all pugg-dog-tails and rainbows in apple land either. And definitely not in the security section. Do some research and find out the truth about os x security.

Murph Mac is more secure because very few people actually use a Mac. What I'm getting at is that Virus writers know that since there are way more PC's than Mac's they are going to have more success writing a virus for a PC or Windows. A Mac isn't really anymore secure than Windows is. The fact is that most if not all Malware is designed to attack Windows. I'm certain that if everyone or at least alot of people were to switch over to using a Mac it would be targeted by Malware writers and you'll see just how crappy Apple security really is. Hell you can actually get away without installing an Antivirus suite in Mac OS. Don't you dare try that with a Windows PC.

Quite possibly the worst article ever why the fuck would I want windows to look like a mac? Windows 7 is in every way better than mac OS X. The taskbar is more elegant than the launcher, there is nothing wrong with the search feature on windows, why the hell do you need expose when there is alt+tab or win+tab. Everything on this list is pointless bloatware that ends up slowing down your pc.

Wow Danthrax, I guess you missed the part where Windows 7 took a similar style to OS X in the first place. It's also amazing how angry you're getting over someone's suggestions for freeware. Maybe cut down to 8 cups of coffee in the morning instead of 10?

"The points you make are a matter of personal preference. That's cool. We can all agree to disagree..."

Um, this isn't a drum circle. You're employed by a magazine that supposedly has a mission. Maximum PC. It's in the title. Is it not the preference of this publication to support and promote PC hardware & software? Sure, people can tweak the hell out of their PCs to do whatever: emulate a C-64, dual boot w/linux, etc. But why is it a wise editorial choice to publish and article that implies your readers would want to emulate an Apple environment?

Stop defending yourself, take your lumps, and think a little harder about your reader base before putting stuff like this up on the site.

"Sure, people can tweak the hell out of their PCs to do whatever: emulate a C-64, dual boot w/linux, etc. But why is it a wise editorial choice to publish and article that implies your readers would want to emulate an Apple environment?"

So how are you defining a PC here, given that it's apparently alright to show readers how to run Linux yet not, for example, build a hackintosh? Or run OSX in a virtual environment inside of Windows? Your argument makes absolutely no sense. If anything, this article is stealing from Apple in that it shows you how to get elements of their product--for free--on your Windows desktop.

The reader base of Maximum PC likes to tweak, hack, and otherwise run their computers in a manner that's beyond the general capabilities of an Average Joe or Jane. To suggest that they're as platform-blind as you make them out to be is almost insulting, given that the varying operating systems out today can each accomplish different tasks to varying degrees of success.

Then perhaps a legitimate poll of your subscriber base is in order. Why? To find out if they use Windows-based PCs out of choice or out of necessity. You could easily argue that if you want the bells and whistles featured in an Apple environment, then just buy a Mac. We choose a PC because we can open the hood and change what's inside, figuratively and literally. Sure it's great to steal from Apple. That's why I bought Windows 7.

Note-just because I don't like this article doesn't mean I'm platform-blind. That's a huge assumption on your part. And don't assume I've always hated Apple. My first computer was an Apple IIe, one of the greatest pieces of technology ever built.

Hiallarious! Also what makes this article even worse, when I tried to download Winlight to check it out, my antivirus plucked a trojan from the winlightsetup0.8.exe !!!! Doesn't get any more rediculous than that, MaximumPC, you disappoint by pointing people to an infected file! At least check this stuff out before you send your mass of dedicated fans and readers somewhere to download a file, I'm just glad I have great antivirus software...

PS> The Antivirus program is based on F-Prot and that line of stuff, it's free software from my ISP but it's the best I've ever used surprisingly... Shaw Secure is the name!